Braes Bayou Drive, Fondren Gardens - Houston Texas
A house on Braes Bayou Drive in the Houston neighborhood of Fondren Gardens features contemporary modern architecture, an open concept floor plan, and artistic touches throughout.
The living room is a spacious area with white glazed porcelain tile flooring, white walls with black baseboards, and a high, white ceiling with recessed lighting. A five-blade, contemporary metallic ceiling fan is suspended over the room. Built-in shelving on one wall is painted red. The top is surrounded by mirrored strips set in a geometric design and has space for a large-screen television set. The living room is flooded with natural light from a wall of windows and glass doors facing the backyard swimming pool. An interior designer might choose one of the contemporary or minimalist design styles for this room.
A wide, cased doorway allows unimpeded access from the living room to a game room. The floor is the same white, glazed porcelain tile flooring as the living room, walls are painted in wide red and white stripes with black baseboards, and the ceiling is white with recessed lighting. At the far end of the room, a four-light linear pendant fixture is suspended from the ceiling. The window on one wall has a vertical blind cover. Two contemporary, triangle pyramid shaped sconces flank the window. The wall opposite the window is covered with floor-to-ceiling mirrors. The game room is spacious and has a modern European ambiance. It is compatible with many contemporary and minimalist interior design styles.
A cased doorway connects the living room to the kitchen, which has white ceramic tile floors, white walls, and a white ceiling. The cabinetry is painted white and has black granite countertops. A work island in the center of the kitchen has a glass cooktop installed. The black granite countertop overhangs the island, allowing extra seating space for large gatherings. A cabinet that stands between the kitchen and the living room holds a stainless-steel sink with a high arc stainless steel faucet. The other side of the countertop overhangs the cabinet in a shallow arc, forming a breakfast bar with space for five or six tall stools. A modern linear chandelier is suspended above the breakfast bar. A soffit above the sink has a wide, bright yellow, horizontal wavy stripe adding a cheerful ambiance to the room. The appliances are stainless steel and include a refrigerator, two stacked ovens, and a dishwasher. An interior designer might add a bowl of lemons on the countertop as a contrast to the black granite and an accent to the wavy yellow stripe.
A set of white louver doors in the kitchen leads to the dining room. This room has black granite tile flooring, white walls with white baseboards, and a white ceiling. A colorful crystal, five-ring chandelier is mounted over the center of the room. The rings have multiple jewel tone colors which echo in the colorful wings painted on one wall. A trio of tall windows overlooks the covered patio and swimming pool at the back of the house. The dining room has a sleek, contemporary ambience that an interior designer will most likely want to highlight.
The house has four bedrooms and three-and-a-half bathrooms. The master bedroom is large and bright with glossy white tile flooring, white walls with white baseboards, and a white sloped ceiling with recessed lighting. A five-light hanging pendant light fixture is suspended from the ceiling. One long wall is painted deep teal, and a light teal bookcase is built into the wall next to the accent wall. Next to the bookshelves is an alcove in which a small wet bar has been built. A narrow strip of black tile frames the white tile floor. Four large windows and a set of glass doors encircle a fireplace at one end of the room. The fireplace has a white brick surround that rises to the ceiling, a white raised hearth, and, in lieu of a mantel, a recessed area of brick from mantel height to the ceiling. The doors lead to the covered patio and swimming pool in the backyard. The master bedroom is compatible with several interior design styles that emphasize clean lines, natural light, coastal colors, and a connection to the outdoors.
The master bathroom has vinyl plank flooring, white walls with white baseboards, and a white ceiling. A small, gold, two-tier crystal chandelier is semi-flush mounted on the ceiling. The vanity is white with white enamel and gold metal handles and knobs. The countertop is white quartz with twin; scalloped oval vanity sinks and gold colored metal faucets and handles with white enamel accents. A large, frameless, rectangular mirror is mounted horizontally above vanity. There is a soffit above the sink with recessed lighting installed in it. Next to the vanity is a white built-in, dresser-style storage cabinet that matches the style and hardware of the vanity. The wall on the other end of the vanity has a white door that hides a private water closet containing the toilet. Across from the vanity, a walk-in shower has a wide clerestory window high on the wall and glass doors. An interior designer may choose a geometric patterned rug for the floor and a vase of flowers on one of the flat surfaces.
The half-bathroom has white walls and a white sloped ceiling. The toilet is in a corner of the room, with a pedestal sink nearby. A square beveled mirror framed with glass and round metal, diamond-like baubles hang above the sink. A four-light, bar vanity light is mounted above the mirror. An interior designer might suggest the addition of a small plant or a small, framed artwork to bring a touch of color to the bathroom.
The first secondary bedroom has white ceramic tile flooring, white walls with wide picture frame molding and white baseboards, and a white ceiling. A four-light, chrome, Sputnik/starburst style chandelier is semi-flush mounted over the center of the room. One wall is filled with two sets of double bifold doors covering the long, narrow closet. An interior designer can choose from many design styles that will complement this room.
The next secondary bedroom has vinyl plank flooring, white walls with white baseboards, and a white sloped ceiling. A modern five-blade ceiling fan with black blades and white hardware, including the four-light attached fixture, is suspended over the center of the room. A round, modern flush-mount light fixture is located in a corner of the room. A soffit over the exterior wall has clerestory windows above it, and a wall of large windows below it. The bedroom has a hand-painted, colorful mural of the planets of our solar system, including the earth's moon, stars sprinkled throughout, and a retro style rocket ship spread across two walls. An interior designer may choose a design style for this room that leans into space exploration, science fiction, or astronomy themes.
The second full bathroom has white ceramic tile flooring, white walls with white baseboards, and a white ceiling. The vanity is white with black and silver hardware on the cupboards and drawers. The countertop is white quartz with twin scalloped oval vanity sinks. The faucets are gold with white enamel accents. A large, frameless, rectangular mirror fills the wall behind the vanity up to the soffit ceiling. The soffit has recessed lighting installed. A door near the vanity opens to the water closet, which contains the toilet and a bathtub/shower combination. A two-globe, semi-flush light fixture is mounted in the center of the ceiling, and a window on the wall between the bathtub and the toilet allows natural light into the room. The clean lines and neutral color palette allow the bathroom to embrace a variety of interior design styles.
The third secondary bedroom has white ceramic tile flooring, white walls with white baseboards, and a white ceiling. The room is large enough for two full-size beds. A series of charming black line drawings of a cartoon astronaut in spacesuit and helmet encircles the room. The astronaut clutches a string attached to a star in one drawing, a string attached to a planet in another drawing, floats with the help of bunches of balloons in two drawings, reclines on a crescent moon viewing Saturn through a telescope, and rides atop a retro rocket ship in other drawings. A white and gold ceiling fan with a white globe light fixture is mounted over the center of the room. Influenced by the line drawings, the light fixture on the ceiling fan resembles a full moon. Windows on two walls allow natural light into the room. An interior designer might elect to create a clean, minimalist look in the bedroom or embrace the space theme with a color palette inspired by NASA images of nebulae.
The final bathroom in the house has white walls with large, dark green porcelain tiles that cover the bottom half of one wall and climbs diagonally upward as it extends across the wall and becomes the shower walls. A wide gold stripe with black striations makes a diagonal design across the tile wall. There is a built-in bathtub/shower combination. The small vanity is white with a dark green tile countertop and an oval, overmount sink. A square, bamboo-framed mirror hangs above the vanity. The bathroom ambience is an interesting mix of contemporary and retro, with the dark green tile giving it a retro feel, while the asymmetry of the tile and the jagged gold stripe add an edgy contemporary feel. An interior designer would have fun in this room, adding brightly colored accents and accessories.
This house in the Houston community of Fondren Gardens has rooms that can be repurposed according to the homeowner's needs, connections to the outdoors, and roomy entertainment spaces. It is filled with light, unexpected color, and charmingly quirky art done by a talented hand.